Kunoichi Tales
by Lil Tanuki
Summary: 50 Prompts: Fifty glimpses at the lives of the kunoichi of Konoha, and one who is not.
1. Chapter 1

**50 prompts**

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a/n:** Obviously, I don't own Naruto. If I did, the girls would get more screen time and the guys would need rescuing ever fifteen minutes.

Not beta'd, please excuse mistakes. :'I

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**#01 – Comfort**

Breath short and heart racing, it took all her will power to let go of the steel bar and not declare defeat before she even entered the rink. All the insecurities she had fought to push down over the past few years rushed back at her tenfold. Amazingly enough, all it took was a brief brush of Shino's hand against her own, along with the most discreet of smiles, to instill the determination she needed to fight her cousin in the Jounin exam.

**#02 – Kiss**

It was simple, chaste, and jokingly placed on the tip of her slender fingers, but Hanabi would never forgive Konohamaru for kissing Hinata first.

**#03 – Soft**

Women are mean to feminine, delicate, and soft. Kunoichi are meant to harden over time, develop calluses, kill, and strive. Tsunade carefully drags the tip of the brush across the nails of her scarred hands and feels proud for having maintained a balance.

**#04 – Pain**

The red elixir of life is trickling down Moegi's lips when she comes to. When the realization hits her that she lost the sparring match anger and disappointment flood her body. Sensing something from behind him, Ebisu casts a glance back at the young girl resting against the tree before returning his sight to the two boys clashing kunai.

"You don't need to be upset." Surprised, Moegi pinches herself to make sure she's awake. Never had Ebisu offered any condolences for someone who wasn't the honorable grandson. She's touched. "It's only expected, after all."

Any admiration she had built up for him flees. "Excuse me, Sensei?"

He adjusts his glasses and crosses his arms, never once turning to face her. "It's natural of you to fall behind the boys. As a woman, or at least as a girl, your body is naturally smaller, weaker. Nature has made your built weaker than that of men, therefore it's only to be expected that you would fall behind in physical talents. This is why there are hardly any great Kunoichi." His voice lowers for a minute before he starts spluttering all over the place. "That is, besides Tsunade-sama of course!! But even then, she's a once in a life time thing. She's a monster. It's not expected for you to follow the same path."

The orangette tentatively reaches for her headband, her arm resists the entire way, screaming promises of bruises and blood. Hearing her sensei's words has struck her harder than any fist could. Her shoulder curl in as she watches the two boys continue their fighting; Konohamaru dodges when he should have parried, the motion Udon uses to grab his kunai is still too clumsy. These things they struggled with are what she learned, _mastered_, long ago. To think Ebisu-sensei would ignore that and still think them better than her solely on the fact that they were male! Hurt thrust aside, she fumbles to her feet and makes her way toward the battle. Her body felt hot, stiff, and just plain ached but, none the less, she charges with a kunai in hand.

Udon's glasses fly from his face when he receives a particularly hard roundhouse kick to the gut while Konohamaru is left spluttering when his scarf is used to swing him into a tree. Unrelentingly, Moegi attacks whenever a boy would return to their feet. With each strategically thrown kunai, with each small white fist, with each steely glare, she sends a message to her ignorant sensei. She speeks of heels that can shatter the earth, glowing fist that call forth both life and death, weapons that never miss their mark, gentle touches that paralyze, piercing winds that leave bloody slashes, illusions that become reality, woven tales of mental manipulation, poison escaping sweet lips, and beauty that matched strength.

This, she says with her fists, is not a once in a life time thing.

**#05 – Potatoes**

Hinata's garden has the most colorful arrangement of flowers Tenten has ever seen. There's cosmos, daffodils, roses, and several things she can't even name. (She remembers flunking that part of kunoichi lessons.) This little garden is in a secluded corner of the Hyuuga compound, just far enough away from Hiashi's all seeing eyes. (The brunette vaguely remembers Hinata telling her that the original garden, her mother's garden, used to reside right outside of the main house. This humble plot of land before her were birthed from the remains of all she could salvaged after her father ordered it to be up rooted.) It is here that Hinata shines brightly, unaware of the world as she tends and nurtures with the porcelain hands of a doll. Serenity and elegance exude from her as she prunes and picks flowers to press later on. Cherubic lips purse together in a firm line when a particularly stubborn weed is found. Her ebony hair shines blue in the sun, looking like the silk that the Water country so often trades.

She is the image of a lady, Tenten thinks.

With her tan skin, bitten nails, scarred hands, and mousey unkempt hair, Tenten can't help feeling like a potato growing next to an exotic rose.

**#06 – Rain**

On the day rumors of _his_ death reach Konoha, Anko simply smiles and laughs and makes the most calloused of jokes. She says she's glad it finally happened, that she only regrets it wasn't her that did him in, she says the world is a better place without that slime. (The ninja in her age group, as well as a few of the older ones, shoot her pitying glances that she pointedly ignores.) But when the sun goes down and the meeting is over, she sits on the giant earthy head of the Third and thanks the gods for rain.

**#11 – Name**

During the time she has walked this earth she has been blessed/Cursed with many names. (-chanCowardHokage) Some were terms of affection, others were not. Each one has cost her sweat, blood, and tears in one way or another. Staring over countless of rooftops, households, (lives, hopes, dreams) she knows she will never be simply _Tsunade_ again. This realization sends chills down her spine, but she pushes the desire to pack up and run away to the very back of her mind and instead decides to hold this newest title proudly until the death.

**#14 – Sex**

Ino knew she was beautiful, she knew others were aware of this too. So like any decent kunoichi, she used her assets to the best of her ability. With little to no effort on her part she would trap men with strategically chosen clothing, sensual touches, and a flick of her hair. Trusting in what her body promised they would take her to their rooms, steal from her what was already taken too many missions ago, and go mad as she dug through the deepest crevices of their mind for secrets vital to her mission and destroyed any last bit of sanity. Ino knew she was beautiful, she just wished she wasn't.

**#17 – Tears**

When the men in Sakura's life leave, a part of her heart goes with them. Her father was the first, his death marked the day she lost the desire to be a strong. (She was a tomboy _for him_. Flowers, dresses, and shoes filled the void.) Years later, when her first love left her stranded on a bench, he took her ability to love with him. (She cried, and cried, and cried with this part of her gone. She filled this void with tears and promises of strength. She trained until her knuckles bled and studied till her eyes were sore.) When her sunshine left with a white sage he stole away her optimism. (Her world became tinted with cynicism and a spoonful of sarcasm. She filled the void with anger and let her once kept temper loose on the entire world.) When the man who called himself her teacher remained, he left her in the worst way possible.

He refused to acknowledge her.

With her first love and her sunshine gone, he did not turn to her and _teach_, as she had expected. Instead, he wallowed in self pity and took mission after mission, never stopping to allow time for grief or time for her. In this way, the last man of significance to her took her ability to trust. (If anything, she had expected him to be dependable, but that was just a lie. Caution and self-preservation began to fill this final void. She looked on all who tried to near her shattered heart with a wary eye and kept a respectful distance. She wanted no more to be taken from her.)

So when her love, her sun, and the man who _called_ himself her teacher (because he never _did_ teach her anything, did he?) saw her in battle, they did not recognize the goddesses of fury before them. Wielding a giant battle axe that weighed more than any of them, she ruthlessly cut down her enemies with an eerie precision and a slight smile. They had expected tears, cries of help, and pleas of mercy for the enemies they were sent to doom. They had not expected the blank emeralds in her head to posses that echo of apathy. They were unaware that their absence caused her to take the pieces of her fragmented heart and seal them tightly within the crevices of her soul. They did not know that the innocence they once knew inwardly suffered and screamed for the sake of enemy lives. That with every slice of her axe, a part of her soul would chip away the defenses to her heard.

They did not know, they had taken her ability to cry.

**#15 – Touch**

There is something about the Inuzaka clan that resounds profoundly within Hinata. It is not how each and every member loudly proclaims their opinions on any subject matter. (Hyuga's are to silently agree with the head and elders, even when they don't.) It has nothing to do with how any clan member, or at least those willing to risk Tsume's wrath, can fight for the title of Head and Alpha. (Theirs is not a predetermined destiny that binds so cruelly.) Nor is it that fact that they so openly display their emotions with warm barking laughter. (The compound is always so ghostly silent.) No, what resounds so deeply in the heiress is how frequently contact occurs between members. It's how often she see's fathers offer their children piggy back rides, how often mothers scold sons with playful slaps to the back of the head or nose, how members and their canine counterparts all nap in such close quarters when there are so many empty rooms at midday. It's the fact that whenever she comes over for team dinner, each member treat her and Shino to familiarly that she never wishes to return to the home where the only touches are made in combat.


	2. Chapter 2

**50 prompts**

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a/n:** If I owned the show, Lee and Gai would both have their respective Happily Ever Afters while Kakashi would be doomed to a pornless life.

Not beta'd, please excuse mistakes. :'I****

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**#22 – Jealousy**

Hinata had always been inferior to her in every way and form, her father and the elders were constantly reminding her of this. This was ingrained into her at a young age as the two girls would constantly be pitted against one another. So understandably Hanabi couldn't fathom why her heart would lurch when she saw her sister's laughing face (she _never_ even _smiled_ at home) caused by some comment Moegi made or whenever the Branch members (she was always too familiar with them for an heiress) would casually comment on how she was her mother's daughter. (Hanabi was _always_ Hiashi's daughter, all hard edges and steel. Never her mother's) She wasn't sure she wanted to know what to call this emotion, but somehow she knew it didn't befit a Hyuuga.

**#23 – Hands**

Calloused, bruised, and scarred, the very skin covering Tenten's fingers are telltales of her profession and infamous skill. Senbons, kunais, shurikens, naginatas, they all fit naturally between her fingers, but _this_…this _thing…_ felt so unnatural and binding(_Like a cage_, she humorously thinks). The brunette holds her hand away from her body and ponders if engagement rings can be worn anywhere else

**#36 – Market**

Emerald green eyes survey a bustling crowd. They fall on women struggling to teach their young daughters the art of haggling with a particularly stubborn vendor, teenage girls flock to the latest clothing stands and young boys play fight in the middle of the street while their elder counterparts set up booths. It's a seemingly simple, happy and peaceful existence. How easy it would be to walk into the crowd and simply disappear. A faint smile appears on pale features and pink locks shake this way and that way knowing that such thoughts are delusional. She has already seen far too much to stop now.

**#39 – Smile**

He comes everyday with a story to tell of a latest conquest or failure. (More often than not it's the latter with promises of future success.) Bright blue eyes and untamable blonde hair have become a constant fixture in her life since she can remember. On some days, and these occur more often than she'd like, he arrives with a large grin that doesn't quite reach his tearless eyes. (The darkest depths of deception that lie within them don't go unnoticed.) Heart aching, she can do nothing more than offer an ear to lend and sympathetic smiles to the boy who's been hurt so much, hoping they serve as some comfort to battered soul. ("Sis, you always look so happy to be serving ramen!" "No, I'm just happy to see _you."_) Years pass by slowly, more and more time occurs between his frequents and one day he returns as a man of powerful standing. There aren't many words exchanged between the two of them but then again, there was never any real need. Their actions speak louder than any words can. Pride wells in her chest to see him wearing the ceremonial robes of Hokage and she offers him the most meaningful (I') smile she can muster and serves him a large bowl with an extra helping of beef. In return, he offers one of his own (thankyousomuchIcouldn'thavedoneitwithoutyouthankyou_thankyou_) cocky grins.

**#40 – Innocence**

A chakra laced palm struck directly on the man's sternum, shattering it and sending ribs to pierce his heart and lungs. Before she could think about her first kill (oh but how it would haunt her later on) another man's spine needed to be snapped, the sickeningly loud sound of crunching bones did nothing to deter her from her next victim. Her teammates needed her now, they need her to be strong and unrelenting, she'll be damned if she lets something like this stop her now. She can worry later about what she's lost for them.

**#41 – Completion**

Green eyes linger a boy and a girl arguing whilst a pearl eyed boy looks on with a feigned disinterest. Somewhere inside, a heart clenches. A pink head turns in the direction of a second generation of lifelong friends talking about going out to eat barbeque together at "the usual place." Somewhere outside, a fist clenches. Pale hands methodically wrap a fresh bandage around the arm of a boy with dark glasses. His team (his _family_), teeter outside the door and wrap him in embraces when news of the cured ailment reaches them. The door closes shut. Somewhere, a tear falls. A figure clad in red and white watches as three bloodied, bruised, and utterly _damaged_ men get rolled into the hospital. Through painful injections, stitches, and healing, a brunette, a blonde, and a silver haired man send discreet smiles her way.

Everywhere the world begins to sing.

**#44 – Heaven**

Good days consists of being drenched in sweat and so exhausted that it hurts to breathe. Great days involve the same things, only there's a ghost of a smile on Neji's face and the Lee's grin is even more blinding than usual.

**#46 – Sun**

She is so much like the sun, silky blonde locks only serve to confirm this. With eyes that are so blueblueblue(they can only belong to the sky) and a radiant personality, Hinata doesn't stand too close to Ino in fear of going blind.

**#49 – Hair**

In a swift and simple motion, razor sharp scissors send ebony locks cascading onto the wooden floor. Pearl eyes solemnly study the handiwork through a vanity mirror and Hinata fleetingly wonders if she'll ever be _allowed_ to grow her hair out like the rest of the clan. Somewhere deep down she hopes the answer is a 'no,' she's not sure whether she can handle truly being a Hyuuga.

**#34 - Lightning/Thunder**

It didn't occur to the blonde until their first practice before the second Chuunin exam, that Sakura had truly changed(grownevolved_blossomed_). There was something in the way she clenched her tiny little fists, in the steely look in her emeralds, in the perfectly erect posture that said she would no longer be second best. There was something different that said she wouldn't be content to be on the sidelines anymore. Something small in Ino died when she realized Sakura would no longer be trailing after her anymore, begging for her approval, but something much greater swelled within her chest as the sight of her changed friend.

Something big was happening with Sakura, and like hell she was going to let herself fall behind forehead. There was some growing to be done, and she was the one to do it.

_Thunder always comes after lightning…_

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_**a/n**: _Yes I totally stole that from _Cars._


End file.
